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By thirty-six, Scott Fischer had already climbed big mountains of Asia. 1 , he had promised himself to conquer (征服) the second-highest mountain in the world — mighty K2 of the Karakoram Range.　　

Fischer and his guide, Ed Viesturs, began their trip with other climbers. As Fischer was preparing to make a long step, an ice block shifted under his foot and 2 him off-balance. His arm had been torn from its socket (关节窝) when Viesturs 3 him to safety. Fischer's 4 was horribly swollen (肿) so they tried to return to base camp. Luckily, after two hours among the six climbers was a 5 , who helped fix his arm. For two weeks, he stayed 6 in the camp to rest while others continued with the climb. The news that the leader had managed to reach the peak 7 him to pursue his goal despite a 8 arm.　　

When they 9 their climb, they met with countless other problems. At one time, they were almost10 by an avalanche (雪崩) while moving to rescue others. Fighting against all 11 , they struggled upwards and soon emerged into the magic al world of intense blue sky. They realized they could go no further — they had 12 K2's top. After a small 13 , they realized they had to return to the camp before dark but the footprints they made on the snow were hardly 14 . With instinct (直觉) and courage, they finally managed to struggle their way back. After fifty-three days on K2, Scott Fischer 15 it.

To have a good conversation is a pleasure for most people.  Sometimes there are awkward silences while people try to think of something to say. Some conversations are one-sided. One person asks all the question, and the other just gives one-word answers. Actually, a good conversation needs two or more people to keep it going. They need to say things that others can answer and expand on.

"What do you do?" is a good place to start. You can also simply say, "Tell me about yourself." Most people love an opportunity to talk about themselves.

As the other person begins to respond to your question, look for common ground.When the person finishes their story, you can comment and mention something that you did. Then you can talk about those activities and your plans for the coming weekend.

When the other person is talking, listen to them. Do not interrupt. When they finish, ask some more questions, and listen to the answers. Similarly, if you are answering a question, don't go on and on.A good verbal exchange is a little like a tennis game, in which the ball goes back and forth. Also, avoid yes/no questions. They can stop a conversation. Instead, ask open-ended questions using what or why.　　

A conversation should end well, too. After you've conversed for a bit, you can say, "I need to run now." You may also give a reason.

Now go out and enjoy a good conversation.

A. Give an answer and stop.

B. But not every conversation is good.

C. Talking with others can be fun for everyone.

D. Positive comments and conversations produce a chemical reaction too.

E. To get the ball rolling in a conversation, ask something about the other person. 

F. If you ask someone about their weekend, the person could talk about what they did. 

G. Say something like, "I really need to get going. My exercise class starts in 10 minutes."

Imagine looking through 3.7 million outfits online in search of just the right fit. Sounds like an impossible task, doesn't it? Not anymore — artificial intelligence (AI) stylists make such a task possible.

An AI stylist is a computer algorithm (算法) that can put together outfits. It works by scouring the internet in a very similar way to the Google search engine. The program searches for clothing images on fashion blogs, online stores and social media, collecting thousands of outfits created by human stylists. The program can also "read" text and pick out important details about each article of clothing. Both the images and text are stored in a data set from which the AI stylist makes fashion suggestions for people based on their personal preferences.

An AI stylist can collect tens of thousands of outfits to display to millions of shoppers online. This data set of outfits is constantly updated and controlled by a team of people. The team helps the computer improve the algorithms which in turn helps the AI stylist put together better outfits for a customer.

An AI stylist displays outfits and fittings based on a customer's desires, but it can also suggest things that may be a little out of the customer's comfort zone. People are often willing to try something new if they are following styling advice.

An AI stylist can run into trouble when people of different cultures use it. What is trendy in Asia can be very different from what is fashionable in Europe. AI stylists keep up with the latest trends in different countries and then change the program for different regions. Companies can create a set of guidelines for the AI stylist to use, which can be adjusted by country to reflect preferences for different styles.

An Al stylist must also keep up with "fashion rules". For example, big-sleeved tops do not go with skinny fit blazers. It is difficult for the AI stylist to recognize "rules" like these. So a different AI model that can recognize the cut, style and color of garments adds that information to the database.

AI stylists have been tested against real stylists and fashion influencers and have received positive feedback. Maybe someday we won't put together an outfit without using our AI consultant first.

Nothing seems to brighten up a room faster than a bouquet of flowers. While bringing a touch of nature inside, fresh flowers make a room look and smell better. Perhaps that's why people who are limited to hospital rooms appreciate flowers so much.

Larsen Jay experienced this for himself. After falling from a building in 2007, Jay was in the hospital for weeks. He faced numerous surgeries and began losing hope. Jay's friends and family members, though, came to his rescue. They delivered fresh flowers each day and something wonderful happened. Jay's mood began to improve, and he looked forward to the future with increased hope.

He soon realized that others around him weren't receiving the same type of emotional support. This drove him to go from room to room, giving away his flowers. The results were amazing! He found that people's misery quickly turned to happiness.

After leaving the hospital, Jay couldn't forget the power of his flowers. Within six months, he came up with the idea for Random Acts of Flowers.

Random Acts of Flowers accepts donations of previously used flowers, often from weddings, and rearranges them. The flowers are then given to people in hospitals and nursing homes. In their first year, the organization served fewer than 100 people. But by 2018 they had given out close to 300,000 bouquets.

According to many studies, fresh flowers and plants can help with the healing process. A Harvard study found that flowers bring health benefits, including reduced stress. A different study found that patients with flowers had shorter hospital stays and lower levels of pain. A 2001 Rutgers study discovered that flowers help reduce depression. The University of Tennessee Medical Center did a study on Random Acts of Flowers in 2016. Almost 95 percent of the patients who had received flowers reported an improvement in their emotional condition.

Time spent in hospitals and nursing homes is no bed of roses. But groups like Random Acts of Flowers are making a difference. They give away fresh flowers to show kindness and promote healing.

Discover Beautiful Belfast, Northern Ireland

Here are a few of the attractions that bring in tourists from around the globe.

Belfast City Hall

Belfast's City Hall, located in the center of the city, is a good place to begin touring. The magnificent building, which opened in 1906, houses exhibits that are related to Belfast's history and government. Outside, the gardens are full of impressive statues and memorials.

Titanic Belfast

Shipbuilding was a major industry in Belfast around 1900. The famous Titanic was built in the city's shipyards from 1909 to 1912. Today, people can visit Titanic Belfast, an interactive museum that praises the legendary ship and those who died with it. In 2016, the popular museum was voted the world's leading tourist attraction.

Ulster Museum

The largest museum in Northern Ireland is Belfast's splendid Ulster Museum. It has been called Northern Ireland's treasure house of the past and present. From mummies to moon rocks, the museum boasts impressive art, natural science and history collections.

St. George's Market

Award-winning St. George's Market was built in the 1890s and is Belfast's last remaining market housed in a Victorian building. Visitors will find approximately 200 booths selling food, clothes, antiques, crafts and more. Go early for the market's famous breakfast, and try a specialty coffee or tea while listening to live music.

When I was in Primary Five, I was in the basketball school team. Every month we would have a basketball match against another school's basketball team. In spite of all the cheers we received from our classmates and the amount of training we had, we had never won a single match before. That was due to our lack of teamwork and cooperation.

During one of our training sessions, our school team was divided into two to have a match against each other. The inter-school competition was coming up and none of us wanted to miss our chance of getting that gold trophy(奖品). "Three, two, one, start!" our basketball coach, Coach Leong, shouted. John, who was in my team, managed to grab the ball that Coach Leong threw in the air. Since John grabbed the ball, he refused to let anyone, not even his teammates, take it.

"Pass the ball to me, John!" I shouted. I was in a good position to shoot the ball into the hoop(篮筺). To my shock, John made a rude face at me. I made an attempt to grab the ball from him. When I got my hands on the ball, it became a tug-of-war(激烈竞争) between John and me. Coach Leong shook his head and exploded like an active volcano. "Children! Is this the type of behavior that I should be seeing? The match is in two weeks! Do you even know the importance of teamwork?" Coach Leong gave us a disappointed look. It seemed as if he had some sad news to tell us.

I was right.

Coach Leong explained that he would be retiring after the match. "I hope you can show me your teamwork and cooperate with one another in this match before I retire." I choked on my tears. My heart sank. We were giving Coach Leong such a tough time, when all he wanted was for us to show teamwork in the match. After that day, my teammates and I were determined to do our best and work as a team.

注意：1. 续写词数应为150左右； 2. 请按如下格式在相应位置作答。

Para. 1 

On the day of the match, we stood face-to-face with our opponents, the team from River Primary School. 

Para. 2 

John did a perfect overhead throw and I caught the ball in mid-air. 

Dear Mr. Smith, 

……

Yours, 

Li Hua

Elephants have a good memory and they can recall the smell of a relative even after a decade apart. 

When Franziska Horner and her team 1 planned reunions (团聚) between two mother-daughter pairs at zoos in Germany, they took advantage of the chance to test the elephants' 2 . One pair had been 3 for two years, 4 the other had spent 12 years apart.

Franziska 5  faecal (排泄物的) samples from these African elephants and others at German zoos, carrying the smelly 10-to-15-kilogram faeces around in her tiny car. Her team 6  these samples one at a time to the four elephants 7  their reunions. 

When they encountered faeces from 8  elephants, either those in the same zoo or unfamiliar animals, they sniffed (闻) the faeces piles and walked away. But when presented with a 9  from the mother or daughter they were due to be reunited with, the female elephants 10  sniffed the samples and showed a variety of 11  , from making deep sounds to swinging their ears. 

Such reactions may be linked to positive emotions, the researchers say. "That was amazing and intense," says Franziska. "We were sure they did 12 , and they knew exactly what they were 13 there. The sample size was small, but it would be 14 to do similar tests on elephants that weren't being reunited. "

"I am not surprised that elephants have memories, especially in social contexts, that 15 a long time," says another scientist.

In the thick jungle of New Guinea is nature's most amazing theater, a Carola's parotia (天堂鸟) is showing off his red and yellow feathers in a display called a "butterfly dance."

This brilliantly colored birds of paradise have developed over millions of years from ancient birds whose feathers were dark and boring in comparison. It seems to be a contradiction (矛盾) that such extreme feathers and colors could have been favored by the process of evolution. After all, these same brightly colored feathers that attract mates also make the birds much more noticeable to predators (捕食者). The answer lies in the safe environment in which the birds live, and a process of evolution known as sexual selection. Except for other pressures, birds of paradise begin to specialize in attracting mates. Over millions of years they have slowly undergone changes in their colors, feathers and other talents. Characteristics that made one bird more attractive than another were passed on and impove over time. 

In the past, demand for the bird's feathers resulted in a huge amount of hunting. At the peak of the trade in the early 1900s, 80,000 skins a year were exported from New Guinea to Europe ladies' hats. Nowadays, few birds die for fashion or for traditional costumes: Ceremonial feathers are passed down from generation to generation. Although local people are still permitted to hunt the birds for traditional uses, they usually target older male birds, leaving younger males to continue breeding.

David Mitchell, a conservationist, is relying on the help of local villagers to record where the birds display and what they eat. He hopes to not only gather data, but also encourage protection of the birds' habitat. The strategy seems to be working. For millions of years, these impressive birds have danced to find their mates. They will keep dancing for as long as the forest offers them stage.

The Grand Canal, a large waterway that first connected north and south China over 1400 years ago, is shorter than it once was, but it is still the longest man-made river in the world. 

The original Canal system began around the year 605. China's emperor realized that he needed a better way to feed his army. Specifically, he needed a way to move food quickly from China's southern rice-growing region to the country's north. Thus, he spent 6 years on construction of the first section of the Grand Canal, connecting existing canals, lakes and rivers. However, by 1127, parts had begun to worsen. In 1279, Kublai Khan began to repair and create a more direct north-south route to and from Beijing.

The Grand Canal was also an important cultural channel. Soldiers, merchants and artists transported ideas, regional foods and cultural practices from one part of China to another. It is said that Peking duck and the Pecking opera were both brought north via the canal. Even today, the country's watery highway plays an important economic role in China. In addition, local governments, eager to increase tourism and real estate (房地产) development, are beautifying areas along the Canal.

This development comes at a price, though. In Yangzhou, the city government has torn down almost all of the older Canal-side buildings. Farther south in the cities of Zhenjiang, Wuxi and Hangzhou, the situation is similar. "Traditionally, we talk about eighteen main cities on the Grand Canal, and each had something unique and special about it." explains Zhou Xihua, the director of the Grand Canal museum. "But now many of these cities are all the same: a thousand people with one face."

In 2005 a group of citizens proposed that the historic Grand Canal be made a UNESCO world heritage site. The status would protect both the waterway and architecture around it. "Every generation wants the next generation to understand it, to look at its monuments." said Zhu Bingren, an artist who cowrote this proposal. UNESCO status was officially granted in 2014. The hope now is that the grand Canal, one of the world's great engineering accomplishments, will continue to link north and south China for centuries to come.

Art is a universal language. Music is a universal language. Love is a universal language. Now, it's the turn of sand to be mentioned in such terms. In her work, sand artist Kseniya Simonova mixes art, music and love to create her own medium which can be understood and appreciated by everyone.

According to Simonova, she fell in love with sand art "absolutely accidentally." Her husband, a theatre director, advised her to give it a try. "I never thought I could perform; I was always a classical artist," reveals Simonova. "I just started it as a hobby and I never thought it would turn out to be what it is now." In 2009, Simonova won the "Ukraine's Got Talent" TV contest. Since then her fame has skyrocketed, and she has become a real sensation (引起轰动的人).

The art Simonova creates is magical; however, the medium she uses is quite common. "It is ordinary river sand. There was a time when I did use the volcanic one, but actually it makes no difference," says Simonova. "In sand art it is an idea and its visualisation that matters. What I do is create a theatre in my mind. The sand is a very convenient medium that is very flexible and responds to speed well. It can show what is going on in my head."

The images created by the artist live only for a few seconds. However, Simonova is not in any way alarmed by the momentary aspect of sand art. "I know that my creations exist only for a while, but I believe that to be absolutely normal because art mirrors life. We live every moment of our life, but it's not possible to repeat those. The same is the case with what I do," Simonova concludes.

Sand art helps the artist to see the world in a new way, painting ever-changing life in every grain of sand.

Four Best National Parks for 2023-2024

Swiss National Park 

Swiss National Park in eastern Switzerland covers nearly 42, 000 acres of land, giving visitors access to roughly 60 miles of trails that weave in and out of valleys backed by the breathtaking Swiss Alps. While hiking, keep an eye out for wildlife ranging from well-known animals like foxes and eagles to Alpine ibexes that are wild goats with large horns living in the mountains. This park closes from mid-November until the end of May with some higher trails remaining under snow through June, so time your trip for the warmer months. 

Yosemite National Park 

Located nearly 170 miles east of San Francisco, Yosemite offers visitors plenty of impressive natural wonders to see. Scenic landscapes, such as the famous Tunnel View and Valley View outlooks, and famous landmarks like Half Dome and El Capitan are just a few of Yosemite's greatest attractions. Don't forget to swing by one of the sequoia groves (红杉林) to be amazed at the towering trees.

Glacier (冰川) National Park 

Glacier National Park is Montana's crown jewel. The expansive one million-acre park, which was named after those remains of glaciers estimated to be 7, 000 years old, offers impressive mountainous scenery. Here, you'll find more than 700 lakes, National Historic Landmarks including Lake McDonald Lodge, Granite Park Chalet and the Two Medicine Store, and the famous Highline Trail, which follows the Continental Divide.

Banff National Park 

Situated in southwestern Alberta, Canada's oldest national park is also one of its most beautiful national parks. Visitors can explore Banff National Park on foot along more than 1, 000 miles of hiking trails—the Lake Agnes Trail features a seasonal European-style tea house, or drive the scenic Icefields Parkway for breathtaking views of glaciers and waterfalls.

Since the age of seven, I had always dreamed of being one of the student leaders who we looked up to. They took responsibility for us, gave instructions, organized school activities, and proudly wore their badges while carrying our school flag and walking on the playground. They represented us and gave speeches on school issues, becoming our role models.

As I grew older, I became qualified to participate in the school elections. I prepared my election speech and on the day of the speeches，everyone balloted(不记名投票).I was hopeful and prayed for a victory. However， the following morning when we gathered on the school grounds for the principal's declaration of the outcome, reality hit me hard. I realized that I had no chance of winning-I was neither well known nor too pretty. Like many preteens facing rejection, I became depressed and felt as though I had no friends supporting me.

Later that day, as I cried in my room, I took a deep breath and decided to change my mindset. I refused to see myself as a failure and made a determination to run for the school elections again the following year-this time, with a plan to win. I sat down at my study table and wrote down my thoughts.

Comparing myself with other competitors, I figured out that I had a lot to improve. With a whole year ahead, I began to play my election strategies.

To gain recognition and demonstrate my ability to represent my fellow students, I started making new friends and helping them in various ways at school. Additionally, I attended a public speaking course to learn how to deliver a great election speech. By the time the election came around, I was well-prepared, and I delivered a passionate speech on the stage.

注意：1．所续写短文的词数应为150左右;2．请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。

Paragraph 1:

The following day, I anxiously waited for the results.

Paragraph 2:

Later, I realized that I had achieved far more than what I had initially set out to do.

注意：写作词数应为80左右。

Dear Eric, 

……

Yours,

Li Hua